


Friday, I'm in Love

by carrionkid



Category: Marvel (Comics), X-Force (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: (And Trying To Explain That To Yr Weird Interdimensional Roommate), (They were roommates. Oh my god they were roommates), Dumb teenagers being dumb, First Kiss, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Nightmares, Roommates, Sharing a Bed, Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-20 09:06:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13714461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carrionkid/pseuds/carrionkid
Summary: hi, i'm here on a mission to retcon the 90s to make them gayer and also spite rob liefeld in the process. i have no idea what part of 90s x force canon this takes place in but uh. it does. definitely pre-cable wanting to telepathically link everyone and post-rictor joining the team but other than that, it just takes place whenever.featuring tabitha smith as the most conniving wingwoman ever, lila cheney as the most hardcore truth or dare player ever, a horribly awkward first kiss, and desperately trying to explain homophobia to yr weird interdimensional gladiator roommate at 2am.i also drew a thing for this over ondeviantart--But it’s Friday night and he’s not supposed to be worrying about his weird gladiator roommate so he stubbornly tries to focus on whatever’s on TV even harder than before. He’s almost talked himself into paying attention when Boom Boom starts shouting for him from the top of the stairs.





	Friday, I'm in Love

Finally, for the first time in weeks, the TV is free on a Friday night. It’s not that Rictor _minds_ watching TV with someone else, so long as that person doesn’t obsessively click between channels every three seconds until it all just blends into static. Of course, he can’t really relax enough to pay attention without the nagging question of ‘ _then where’s Shatterstar?_ ’ rearing its ugly head. Chances are, the answer is _‘stabbing something he’s not supposed to for the fourth time this week_ ’. That really shouldn’t be Rictor’s problem, but it sure seems to end up being his problem.

 

Somehow, they ended up roommates. Nobody else on the team has to share a room and despite the fact he’s promised that he won’t try to kill Cable again, he’s still stuck rooming with Shatterstar. He’s not exactly sure if Star’s supposed to keep him out of trouble or if it’s the other way around, because last time he checked, Shatterstar isn’t a very well adjusted person. Which is saying something coming from _Rictor._ And that means he’s kind of ended up in charge of making sure he doesn’t stab anything or anyone, which should be pretty easy but Star’s one of the most jumpy people he’s ever encountered.

 

But it’s Friday night and he’s not supposed to be worrying about his weird gladiator roommate so he stubbornly tries to focus on whatever’s on TV even harder than before. He’s almost talked himself into paying attention when Boom Boom starts shouting for him from the top of the stairs.

 

“HEY RIIIIICTOR,” Boom Boom leans over the handrail, “RIC, RIC, RIC, RIC.”

 

He groans, burying his face in his hands.

 

“RICTOR, RICTOR, I KNOW YOU’RE DOWN THERE!”

 

“YEAH, WHAT IS IT?” He calls back, not looking over to the stairs.

 

“JUST GET UP HERE!”

 

“WILL YOU LEAVE ME ALONE IF I DO?”

 

“SURE,” Boom Boom laughs, bouncing up on the balls of her feet before darting back off towards one of the auxiliary common rooms.

 

Rictor gets up, shutting off the TV before climbing the stairs intentionally slowly; if there’s one thing Boom Boom hates more than anything, it’s waiting. At the top of the stairs, he can see her gesturing for him to hurry up before ducking into a room. Rictor keeps his pace agonizingly slow, still trying to get back at Tabs for pestering him until he actually came up here.

 

Poking her head back out of the door, she shouts, “What’re you waitin’ for? Get in here!”

 

Rictor speeds up, only to come to a dead stop in the doorway, “The fuck is Lila Cheney doing here?”

 

“There’s too many boys on the team,” Boom Boom shrugs, “So I invited her over. We’re playing truth or dare.”

 

“And you needed me here, why, exactly?”

 

“‘Cos Cheney dared pretty boy to let her put lipstick on him. Thought you’d wanna see,” she elbows him, shooting him a smirk.

 

“Fuck off,” he adds before stepping into the room. _Guess that’s the answer to ‘where’s Shatterstar’._

 

“He looks great in it, too,” Lila grins, raising her voice, “Get over here, stop lookin’ at yourself in the mirror!”

 

“Understood,” Star says, turning away from the small decorative mirror hanging on the wall.

 

It takes all his willpower to not go slack jawed; of course Rictor gets why everyone calls him pretty boy, but it’s still striking to see Star’s lips lined black as the mark over his eye, both braids undone, hair genuinely spilling over his shoulders like it’s some kind of movie. Thank fuck there isn’t a telepath on the team because he might have to quit if there was even the chance this train of thought would be overheard.

 

Siryn’s laugh snaps him out of his thoughts; her words slur as she speaks, “Y’look like a girl!”

 

“I have never encountered anything like this, it is _wonderful_ ,” Star tucks a strand of hair behind his ear, brows furrowed, “But I do not see what’s funny about it.”

 

“Guy’s don’t usually wear lipstick,” Boom Boom explains, gaze darting to Rictor as she gives him a half-smile.

 

“Don’t listen to them,” Lila slings an arm over his shoulder, “You’d look great up on stage with me. What say you blow this joint and come join my band? Play for a crowd of millions each night?”

 

Star grimaces, ducking out from under her arm, “I would rather not.”

 

“Suit yourself,” Lila crosses her arms.

 

“So Rictor,” Boom Boom elbows him in the side again, “You gonna play? Lila brought space booze but you can’t drink unless you play.”

 

“Only reason I’m here,” Siryn interrupts.

 

“It’s called Janx Spirit and it’s the best drink you’ll ever have, but I have’ta water it down for you landlocked lightweights or the hangover would kill you.”

 

Rictor shrugs, “I don’t really have anything better to do.”

 

“That’s the spirit!” Boom Boom claps him on the back, before moving back to sit next to Siryn on the floor.

 

Lila sits on Boom Boom’s other side, followed by Shatterstar, and then Rictor, between Star and Siryn. Lila passes a bottle, glass so dark it’s almost black, to Rictor. He takes a swig, the liquid makes his tongue feel weirdly tingly and his vision swim despite the fact he’s only taken a sip of it.

 

“What the fuck is this?”

 

Lila grins, a wild look in her eye, “I told you it was good! Now, truth or dare?”

 

He runs a hand through his hair, “Uh. Truth, I guess.”

 

“Fuck, Marry, Kill, Domino, Cable, Feral.”

 

Rictor wrinkles his nose, “Kill Cable.”

 

“We all saw that comin’,” Siryn rolls her eyes.

 

Boom Boom drums on the floor with her hands, “Answer the rest!”

 

“Guess I’d fuck Domino, and,” he grimaces again, “Marry Feral. I don’t even wanna _think_ about what fuckin’ Feral’d be like.”

 

Boom Boom laughs, hard enough to snort, “You’d marry Feral?! Can you imagine havin’ Feral as a wife?”

 

“I have a wife,” Shatterstar adds, making Rictor drag his hands down his face and groan.

 

“ _Really?_ ” Boom Boom waggles her eyebrows, “I thought you were the same age as us, but lookat you! You’ve got yourself a wife!”

 

He nods, “We have never met. We were paired with the intent of breeding a warrior better than both of us combined.”

 

“Well, uh,” Boom Boom’s eyes are wide, “That’s kinda. Not how marriage works on Earth.”

 

Rictor passes the bottle to Siryn, “Yeah, I told him that too. Siryn, truth or dare?”

 

She tips the bottle up, taking a long drink and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, “Truth.”

 

“You ever make anyone’s ears bleed when you’re, y’know, doin’ it?”

 

Siryn shoves him as hard as she can with the hand that isn’t holding the bottle, almost knocking him into Star.

 

“C’mon, answer the question!” Lila says, poorly stifling a grin.

 

“Yeah,” she snarls out, shoving Rictor again for emphasis before passing the bottle to Boom Boom, “Truth or dare?”

 

“Dare, and make it a fun one!”

 

“You gotta,” she trails off, thinking, “Gotta go grab Sammie’s goggles. Don’t wake ‘im up ‘cos he’s asleep like a good kid.”

 

“Psh, that’ll be easy!” Boom Boom jumps up, punching the air.

 

“I’m pretty sure that means you gotta be quiet,” Lila adds.

 

Boom Boom sticks her tongue out at her before darting from the room. There’s a minute of tense silence, punctuated by Lila taking a swig from the bottle every once in a while. Boom Boom sprints back into the room, aviator’s hat and goggles on her head.

 

“Easy peasy! I can be quiet!” She sits back down, “Now it’s Cheney’s turn. Truth or dare?”

 

“Hell yeah, hit me with a dare,” Lila beams, air guitaring towards Boom Boom.

 

Boom Boom steeples her fingers in a way that can only be described as downright villainous, “You have to teleport to the Kree Vault and steal something cool.”

 

“Tabs, darling,” Lila takes her hand, “That’s just, like, Tuesday for me.”

 

There’s a bright flash of light, leaving a distinct lack of Lila Cheney in the room.

 

“If you start a Kree invasion, Cable’s gonna be pissed,” Rictor glares at her across the now broken circle.

 

“ _I_ wouldn’t start a Kree invasion, _Lila_ would.”

 

“You would betray her like that?” Star looks at her, head cocked to the side.

 

“There are _no_ friends in truth or dare.”

 

Again, the room is bathed in light; Lila stands, arms spread like she’s being cheered on by a crowd, “Miss me?”

 

Siryn yawns, “What’d y’get?”

 

“I dunno, it looked cool,” she tosses the object in question to Boom Boom.

 

It’s a deep, swirling blue, covered in unrecognizable carvings and it almost seems to hum in her hands, “SWEET!”

 

“Now,” Lila turns to Shatterstar, “Star, what about you? Truth or dare?”

 

He grins, baring his teeth, “Dare.”

 

“He always picks dare,” Boom Boom sighs, crossing her arms, “We’re running out of things to dare him to do, he already cut one of my time bombs in half _and_ changed the security system to always mispronounce Cable’s name _and_ let us all sit on his back when he did 100 push-ups.”

 

“Don’t worry,” Lila covers her grin with her hand, “I’ve got an idea. I dare you… To kiss Rictor.”

 

Rictor almost chokes, mentally deciding what’s the best way to get away with killing Boom Boom because there’s no way she isn’t behind this.

 

“Understood.”

 

“Come on, guys,” he says, very pointedly not looking at Shatterstar, “That’s just a dick move, you know he won’t turn down a challenge.”

 

“That’s why we got him to play! He’s way funner than any of the rest of you boys!”

 

“I don’t know about you, Tabs,” Lila says, leaning against Boom Boom, “But it sure sounds like Rictor’s the one that wants to turn down a challenge.”

 

“I’m-- It’s-- I’m not--”

 

Lila holds out the bottle.

 

He grabs it, taking a deep swig before slamming it back on the ground, “Fuck it.”

 

He turns towards Star, who’s just watching him intently and unblinking. Slowly, Star reaches up to put his hands halfway on Rictor’s face, halfway on his neck. They’re calloused, but of course they’d be calloused, he spends like six hours a day training with his swords.

 

In a split second blur of movement, Star pulls him forward until their noses are touching; Rictor’s acutely aware of the fact that he’s seen Star break someone’s neck before and it’s equal parts terrifying and terrific to feel his unnervingly cold hands on his neck.

 

Then, he kisses him. If you could call it that. The angle isn’t right and their teeth click together, making Rictor flinch. Star’s eyes are open the whole time, still unblinking and Rictor’s reminded that as human as he looks, he’s not even from this dimension.

 

Shatterstar leans back, dropping his hands from Rictor’s face, head cocked to the side like he’s waiting for something. Rictor stands up, waiting for the room to stop spinning.

 

“I dunno why I thought this was a good idea. I’m out.”

 

“Don’t be like that!” Boom Boom calls out, “It’s not like Siryn’ll even remember what happened tonight, she drank half the bottle of that space booze!”

 

Rictor flips her off, slamming the door behind him as he storms from the room. He stops at the top of the stairs, leaning his head against the cold drywall. There definitely aren’t weird, confused, angry tears pricking at his eyes, but he figures it’s better to have _whatever this is_ somewhere no one can see him. So, he slinks off to the downstairs bathroom no one really uses because the nicer ones are over by the bedrooms.

 

When he looks in the mirror, he can see smears of black lipstick on his lips. He turns on the sink, dipping his hand under the cold water before frantically scrubbing at his lips. It doesn’t seem to wash off, only smear more and more until he stops. Bracing his hands against the molding of the sink, he lets his head drop, teeth clenched so hard his jaw aches.

 

Of course this was some fucked up joke. Boom Boom’s a dick, but she usually knows what’s too far. But she was in on it, she got him up there, got him playing. Lila was in on it too, pushing them on for whatever sick enjoyment they got out of it. And fuck.

 

_Fuck._

 

_Maybe Star was in on it too._

 

The light above his head flickers as his hands tighten around the edge of the sink. Maybe this was going on all along, maybe all that blunt, clueless, weirdness was an act, and he was just too stupid to see it. After all, he was the newcomer. Maybe they’ve all just been fucking with him all along.

 

The lightbulb overhead bursts, flecks of ceiling tile falling down around him like snow, and he stops. The room stills, the cracked linoleum tile feels solid again. He takes a deep breath, clearing his mind and trying to reign things back. Then, he pushes his hair back, out of his eyes. He shuts the water off, leaving the rest of the bathroom in disarray, and stumbles out into the ground floor common area.

 

He turns off towards his bedroom, crossing his fingers in the hopes that tonight is one of the many nights that Shatterstar doesn’t sleep. He slips into the room, not bothering to turn on the lights, and is just about to flop into his bed because getting undressed is too much work when he’d rather be unconscious and unable to think about kissing his roommate.

 

Before he can do that, his eyes adjust to the darkness, and because the universe hates him, Star’s sitting on his bed. He’s cross-legged, hands resting in his lap. Rictor debates running, but if he can see Star, then Star can definitely see him.

 

“You are upset.”

 

Rictor throws his head back, laughing almost frantically, “Of course I’m upset!”

 

Shatterstar looks down at his hands; with his hair framing his face, he almost looks shy, “Was the kiss not adequate?”

 

Rictor stops in his tracks, completely forgetting everything he thought about saying while stewing in anger. _That_ was not what he was expecting Star to say.

 

“Was the… No. I mean. It was a pretty shitty kiss, dude,” he rakes a hand through his hair, bristling with nervous energy, “You’d think with all the TV you watch, you’d be better at it.”

 

“It looked like something people find enjoyable, but I do not fully understand the logistics. I do not understand many things here, but I want to understand,” Shatterstar says, then with more urgency, adds, “I want to understand why you’re upset.”

 

“Because I kind of wanted to kiss you.”

 

Rictor sighs, sitting down in the space next to Star with his back against the wall, resting his forehead against his knees.

 

“And that is bad?”

 

“No, uh. Maybe?” Rictor clasps his hands, pressing them against the back of his head, “People find a lot of reasons to hate each other. We’re already mutants and then when you throw in something else, or a couple other things, it just gets worse.”

 

Star stays silent, like he’s waiting for Rictor to go on, he stumbles over things he could say, it’s such a vague concept to try to explain to someone so unused to Earth.

 

Finally, he settles on saying, “People have a really narrow idea of what’s normal. And it’s not, like, a rule or anything, but they get weird when you do stuff they don’t think is normal. And things get stupid and complicated when you stop being normal. I’m not supposed to want to kiss you and I’m definitely not supposed to _actually_ kiss you and now everything’s a fucking mess.”

 

“But I wanted to kiss you as well. Is that not how these things work?”

 

“Life isn’t a sitcom, okay!?” Rictor throws his hands up with an exasperated sigh, “When’s the last time you saw two guys kissing on TV?”

 

“I have not watched everything yet,” Star frowns, “But I do not believe I have seen any.”

 

“That’s because people expect you to end up with a girl because that’s _normal!_ ”

 

“But I want to kiss _you._ ”

 

Rictor sighs, running his hands through his hair again.

 

“I did not know I could feel anything other than...” Star trails off, attempting to get the point across by twisting his face into a silent snarl before continuing, “But now I feel something very big, and it… It is as if I’m about to step into the arena for the first time again. I feel it everywhere, in my whole body.”

 

Rictor lets out a short, breathless laugh, “Fuck, I know how that feels.”

 

“Perhaps you could show me the correct way to kiss.”

 

Rictor swallows hard, looking over to see Star smiling, teeth shining in the thin bands of moonlight filtering in through the blinds, “You really have to learn to stop talking in complete deadpan. No one knows when you’re joking if you say it like that.”

 

Star’s face falls, so Rictor shifts until he’s kneeling on the bed; he raises his hands, visibly shaking as he almost touches Star’s shoulders. Fuck, he really shouldn’t be doing something like this because he doesn’t have nearly enough control over his powers when he’s semi-drunk and scared out of his mind.

 

“I’m gonna touch you. Don’t freak out and stab me, okay? I know you always have a knife on you.”

 

Star nods, adding, “My instincts have saved your life many times. That’s easily made up for the one time I stabbed you, but you should not have come up behind me.”

 

Rictor rolls his eyes, bringing his hands up until his fingers brush against the skin of Star’s cheeks. He can see Star flinch for a split second, an action that would be imperceptible to anyone else.

 

“You have to tilt your head,” he leans in, “Like this, so you don’t just smash your face against mine. I think you almost broke my nose the first time.”

 

He almost goes cross-eyed trying to meet Star’s eyes, watching him with rapt attention as he tilts his head. Rictor’s pretty sure Shatterstar can see in the dark, but there’s no way _he’d_ be able to do this if the lights were on. He sucks in a deep breath, before completing the gap between them and pressing his lips gently against Star’s. He doesn’t dare to try anything more risky, choosing instead to lean back.

 

“I am beginning to understand the appeal of kissing,” Star says, almost breathless despite the fact his breathing is still even at the end of a six hour training session, “I am not used to being touched.”

 

“I kinda got that,” Rictor gives him a sheepish smile, “Can I touch your hair?”

 

Star nods. Rictor pushes his hands up into Star’s hair, surprisingly smooth between his fingers. His nails are short enough that he can drag them along Star’s scalp without it being uncomfortable and he falls into a nice rhythm of working to the end of his hair and circling back up to the top of his head. Star closes his eyes, letting out a low hum.

 

Rictor freezes in place, “Is that an ‘explodey sword’ hum or, like, a happy hum?”

 

“Happy.”

 

“Good, got it.”

 

He starts again, trying to get back into the rhythm from before, completing the cycle over and over until he feels his eyes growing heavy.

 

“Look, I know you don’t sleep, like, ever, but Cable’s gonna be pissed if I’m hungover _and_ half asleep for group training tomorrow.”

 

Star nods, laying down with his back pressed against the wall.

 

“Oh, uh, you’re really planning to stay here.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Okay, that’s, that’s good,” Rictor lays down to face him.

 

The beds aren’t big by any means, but Star’s a weird mixture of skinny and strong and if they tangle their legs together, they fit together in a way that’s almost halfway comfortable. Star reaches out, taking one of Rictor’s hands and squeezing it before closing his eyes, mostly as a courtesy.

 

In this kind of life, it’s rare to be a deep sleeper. Rictor jolts awake, stock still, muscles taut as his heart threatens to beat its way out of his chest. He finally exhales when he realizes that everything’s fine, Star just kicked him, but that does nothing to dispel the jittering energy coursing through his whole body. Being _this_ hyper-aware of everything around him is annoying right up until it’s useful.

 

He tries to catch his breath, bringing everything back to normal before his roommate realizes that getting kicked in the middle of the night was enough to make him jump out of his skin. It’s lighter in the room than it was when they laid down, but not quite what you could describe as sunny. Rictor’s eyes flick to the door, still closed, then back to Star, eyes shut tight with the first two fingers of his free hand between his teeth.

 

Star kicks out again. He must be holding back, Rictor realizes now that his mind’s finally caught up to his body, because they’ve sparred together and Star’s kicked him back against the wall easily. Star bites hard against his fingers, almost muffling a pained noise.

 

Everything clicks into place, bringing a clarity that makes Rictor mentally smack himself.

 

He _is_ stupid and oblivious and totally unaware of what’s happening right in front of him, but not at all in the way he was expecting. It should’ve been so easy to put together if Rictor wasn’t so willing to take the ‘badass alien gladiator’ thing at face value. (Or maybe if he wasn’t so desperate to seem cool and unaffected…)

 

Star’s super jumpy, training almost obsessively, never sleeping, and generally just acting an awful lot like Rictor did when he first ended up at X-Factor. And now it sure as hell looks like he’s having a nightmare, but Rictor knows a thing or two about reputations and pride, so he mentally files this away to ‘secrets he’s going to take to the grave’. Then, he squeezes Star’s hand as tight as he can and tries to go back to sleep.

 

* * *

 

His alarm goes off at ten; eyes still shut, he lets out a guttural groan as he reaches for the snooze button. A headache’s building behind his eyes but it’s not nearly as bad as he was expecting. He elects for opening his eyes to gauge just how much today is gonna suck only to realize that, yes, he was totally right and it’s completely different to be lying in bed, inches away from your roommate when it’s light outside.

 

“I have been waiting for you to wake up. I did not believe I would be able to leave without waking you.”

 

Rictor almost chokes on his spit, face flushing as he remembers that the only way they ended up actually fitting on the bed was by tangling together in a way that probably counts as cuddling but that’s not something he wants to think about right now, like, _at all_.

 

He sits up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and burying his head in his hands, “This was a horrible idea, I shouldn’t’ve done this, I’m never listening to Tabs again.”

 

Shatterstar sits next to him, hand almost ghosting over his shoulder like he can’t decide if touching Rictor would be okay.

 

“Tabs never knows when to shut up and Siryn was there and so was Lila-fucking-Cheney,” Rictor can taste bile in the back of his throat, “And everyone’s gonna know that I’m… Fuck, I don’t even _know_ what I am.”

 

“You are panicking,” Star says, just as blunt and matter of fact as ever, “We will talk to Boom Boom, and if she will not listen to us, we will kill her.”

 

The calm certainty of the suggestion is enough to put things into perspective; Rictor gives a shaky laugh, “We’re not killing Tabs. She’s an asshole almost all of the time but, like, I still trust her. It’s just… This is a _really_ big thing.”

 

Star makes a noise of acknowledgement, standing up and peeling off his shirt in one fluid movement. He’s downright ritualistic about hygiene and still in the process of grasping the concept of privacy. Rictor rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, trying to find any reason to not look at Star changing. He settles on stripping off his jeans to change into athletic shorts; there’s no point to changing his shirt when he’s just gonna get drenched in sweat during training.

 

Afterwards, he stands, shifting his weight from foot to foot, “I could, uh, help you with your braids. Y’know, if you wanted me to. You always do them, and, uh, I know how to braid, because, y’know, my sisters.”

 

Star gives him a wary look, eyes narrowed, before saying, “Yes, that would be okay.”

 

Rictor nods, swallowing hard, trying to mentally prepare to walk up to Star. Everything about this is so much more terrifying now that they’re in broad daylight, but somehow he manages to comb his fingers down the length of Star’s hair, letting muscle memory take over as he divides it into three strands. Star finishes off the other side in half the time it takes Rictor, but he doesn’t make a comment about it. Instead, he silently hands Rictor a hairband and waits.

 

“Let’s go see Boom Boom, she’ll have something to get the lipstick off,” Rictor says, wrapping the hairband around the end of the braid.

 

“I _like_ it.”

 

Rictor shrugs, “Suit yourself, just don’t attack any of the other guys if they give you shit for it. Tabs can probably help you touch it up, though.”

 

He opens the door just enough that he can see into the hallway; no one’s around, so he steps out. Somehow, he makes it to Boom Boom’s room without anyone running into him, something that’s a hard thing to manage when you live with your entire team.

 

“I fuckin’ hate you,” Rictor says, stepping into her room.

 

“And yet here you are,” Boom Boom shoots him a smirk, “And it looks like you got even more lipstick on your face now. Wonder how that happened...”

 

“Nope,” he shakes his head, “This is just the same amount as before. Now tell me how to get it off ‘cos I can’t figure it out.”

 

“That’s ‘cos you have to use makeup remover,” she rolls her eyes, grabbing a bottle off of her utterly chaotic desk and throwing it at Rictor’s head.

 

Rictor catches it, “Can I get something to put it on?”

 

“Get it yourself.”

 

He sighs, walking over to the desk. She hands him a paper towel and he covers it in makeup remover before wiping it against his lips.

 

“Is it all gone?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You can’t tell _anyone_ about this, I’m _serious_.”

 

Boom Boom huffs, crossing her arms, “Got it, won’t tell anyone. _Sooo,_ did it work? ‘Cos hot alien boy’s been staring at you since you got here.”

 

Rictor drags his hands down his face, “ _I fucking hate you._ ”

 

“You _love_ me.”

 

“Hello.”

 

Rictor almost jumps at the sound of a voice behind him; Star shuts the bedroom door before continuing, “I would like you to fix my lipstick.”

 

Boom Boom shoots Rictor a look, eyebrow raised almost accusingly, “Sure thing.”

 

Star sits on the floor in front of her, cross-legged. He lets her touch his chin, tipping his head back so she can wipe off the smeared coat. Rictor’s stomach twists, from a weird mix of jealousy and dread on Star’s behalf. He’s not sure that Star’s even capable of feeling embarrassed or self conscious, but it’s not like he can’t hold his own if anything goes wrong.

 

“Done!” Boom Boom grins, nudging Star until he’s facing Rictor, “Looks good, doesn’t it, Ric?”

 

He looks at Star, watching him expectantly, “Yeah, it looks great.”

 

Apparently that’s the affirmation he’s waiting for, because Star stands up and leaves, just as silently as he entered.

 

“Let’s get breakfast, I wanna be there if a fight breaks out. My money’s on pretty boy.”

 

Rictor glares at her, “None of this was cool. That entire thing was a dick move.”

 

“It worked, right?” Boom Boom punches his arm, laughing, “Besides, I’ve known you for _how long_ ? I know _everything_ about you. Even if Siryn remembers anything, she won’t care and Lila’s from _space!_ It’s, like, illegal to be straight in space or somethin’. My plan was airtight!”

 

“You’re such a scheming asshole, I dunno how we’re still friends.”

 

“It’s ‘cos I’m so lovable,” she sticks her tongue out before sprinting away, stopping at the top of the stairs only to add, “Race you to breakfast!”

**Author's Note:**

> so, uh, a bit of context for the 'when he first got to x-factor' thing. back in the 80s, rictor was kidnapped by an anti-mutant organization called The Right (i know... i know) who basically turned him into a living weapon and told everyone he was a dangerous mutant planning to level a city when he was really just a teenager strapped into a power amplifier. 
> 
> x-factor, currently a "mutant hunting organization" that was constantly conveniently thwarted by mutants (hint, they're totally the same people in different costumes) rescued him and added him to the ever growing collection of orphans chillin' at x-factor HQ, including, but not limited to, boom boom. this x factor lineup was scott, jean, beast, iceman, warren, and warren's childhood friend, cameron hodge, but that's a REALLY BIG MESS to try to explain.
> 
> bonus points if you spotted the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy reference!!!


End file.
